Who tags a fish?

[Bait O' Eggs]

My question is, who tags a fish, the person who hooked it or the person who landed it? This is not a big problem for your average Joe who hooks a fish and lets his kid land it. Assuming he isn't just using the kid for a second tag for himself.

I have spoken to law officers and was told the person who lands the fish is the person who tags it. The regulations don't define this situation very clearly.

The definition of angling in the Oregon regulations is as follows on page 8: "Angling: To take or attempt to take fish for personal use by hook and line." The regulations go on to define the word take on page 9. "Take: To kill or reduce to possession or control, or the attempt to kill or reduce to possession or control." The regulations state on Page 6 under the tag section "Adult salmon or steelhead, legal size sturgeon and pacific halibut must be recorded immediately upon removal from the water and fish must be recorded in the order caught". On page 9 it states under general restrictions the following are unlawful "1. Use of more than one rod or one line when angling for any fish " and also unlawful is " 4. catching all or part of another persons catch limit ..."

Having gone thru the regulations it is not clear who tags the fish. The person who hooked the fish or the person who landed it.

I know the guides usually fish a pole when they have customers in the boat. When the guide hooks a fish and hands the pole to a customer to land the fish, is not the client really fishing with 2 poles? Did not the guide catch part of a persons limit for them. Maybe they had the fish on for 5% of the time.

Personally I don't really care if a guide hooks the fish for the customer. I haven't fished with a guide and don't know what percent of the fish hooked are on the guides line. I would have guessed it was a large percent until I see where Jennie put a clinic on for our retired guide RT yesterday. (I assume big grin is appropriate and allowable here)

Do you think it should be allowable for the guide to hook their clients fish? It seems to be a loop hole in the regulations.

[Hoosier Daddy]

The person who keeps it tags it. I take this to mean if you land it, you tags it.

[Clamman]

BOE,

Though not thouroughly defined within the synopsis, the law officers have interpreted the regulations correctly. A person may indeed hook a fish and pass the rod, thus the fight and the action of landing the fish falls upon that person who received the rod. A person may not land a fish and let another person tag it that falls under #4.

As far as the guide hooking the fish and passing it on scenario... As long as the boat has as many poles out as licensed anglers, it is legal to pass the rod. The gray area is how long the person must fight the fish for it to be legally theirs.


ISG

[Phish_on]

Every line in the water has to correspond to a licensed angler.

We can trade rods whenever we want to!

He who lands/keeps the fish tags it.

[Jeffhead]

Ahhh Eggs,
You have touched on a subject that is common practice that should be made legal, that is to set a boat limit instead of a personal limit per day. 3 guys in the boat, 6 fish, don't matter who gets em'. How many times have you been out where there is a "hot rod". The guides are doing that now. Question for the guides on the board if you will answer it, what is your average percentage of passed off rods??? I would be willing to bet that it is higher on rivers like the Cowlitz where boondogging is predominate. The WDFW is considering a boat limit regulation change for salt water areas for next year and I think that it should just be a reg for all waters period!!! My .02
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

[Shannon]

My son was 3 years old and we were Steelheading on the Grande Ronde I hooked one and allowed my son to play it, of course with my help and this doughball OSP asked if my 40" tall 3 year old boy had a tag. I started laughing and said ya right and kept playing the fish. He stated he had to have a tag. I said he doesn't have to have a license but he has to have a tag to play out a fish on my rod. What a jerk. Not like i was going to keep it. He let me off with a warning. Pretty sad isn't it. I do mainly catch and release and always take a camera and release the fish anyways. So you folks that have little toddlers that want to play the fish better hope they have a lisence or a desperate OSP might bust your chomps.

[Hammer Bob]

Jeffhead you have opened a real can-of-worms here. It is common practice for the boating public in Ca. to use boat limits...that is illegal as the law is written. I agree that with a small party of friends and associates this presents no problem. Where I see a problem is a change in regulations to allowing boat limits on larger charters or party boats. What happens all to frequently on some of the sportfishing party boats targetting salmon in the salt off Ca. is that in a hot bite experienced anglers can catch 2,3,4 or more limits before the inexperienced can get their chance to catch a fish. Is this right? I would have to say no but many of the captains are only interested in getting back to the dock ASAP to collect bragging rights as first boat in. The person(s) who catch more than their limit cull the best of their catch and the rest are distributed to the less unfortunate as their limit. Now this would make me mad as all get out as I feel I am paying for a boat ride AND a chance to catch my OWN limit of fish not to have someone else catch it for me. If I go home skunked so be it. There have been numerous complaints about this practice but to date very little has been done to stop it.

So bottom line while I can agree that while out with competitive friends in a private boat (fresh or salt) I can see and understand boat limits. However, in situations as described above I would be against it. The legislation must be written taking these factors into consideration.

[This message has been edited by Hammer Bob (edited 12-19-2000).]

[Bobber Down]

How about when one person catches two fish. At this time how many put one rod away, or do you do the charter boat thing where all rods stay out till you limit the boat. The law states that after two fish have been retained you put your rod away. I'm really surprized that more tickets are not passed out on this one.........Bobber Down

[ZaQ]

If I could figure out how to catch fish, I would definately tag them.

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Got any eggs?
ZaQ

[kingofbacklash]

Catching has nothing to do with hooking. For example: How many times have you or somebody else hooked a fish only to loose it. Meaning to have a loss of a fish. Notice the wording here. " 4. catching all or part of another persons catch limit..."the word catching does not mean hooking, the person landing the fish is the only one responsible for catching all or part of the catch limit. As long as your not fishing two rods at the time you hook a fish or the person you pass the rod to. Meaning each fisher is only fishing one rod, it's lawful to swap single rod's at anytime you want. The person who lands the fish tags it.